Categories: Network Events
03.10.2023
On March 9, 2023 the Network joined some 120 members of the supportive housing community for our 2023 Annual Meeting to reflect on and celebrate the past year in accomplishments and challenges as well as vote in the 2023 Board of Directors.
The Network’s Board Chair and CEO of Breaking Ground, Brenda Rosen, kicked off the speaking program, celebrating the Network’s new Executive Director, Pascale Leone noting that she brings two decades of experience working to imrpove the lives of underserved and at-risk individuals with a focus on equity and inclusion, She also thanked the Network for its advocacy efforts which this year resulted in huge increases to older DOHMH contracts referred to by members as a ‘game-changer’ as well as the creation of an all-new Supportive Housing Preservation Program at HCR among other achievements. Concern Housing Executive Director Ralph Fasano followed and presented the Network’s financials.
Pascale then welcomed members expressing gratitude to be leading the Network, summarizing a number of our community’s other accomplishments over the past year and thanking the departing Board members for their years of service. She then asked for votes for our slate of new and returning Board members as well as our newest members --Enterprise’s Baaba Halm, National Equity Fund’s (NEF) Emily Chen, Hudson Housing Capital’s Blanca Ramirez and Dr. Myra Henry from the YWCA of Rochester and Monroe County – which passed unanimously.
HUD Region II Regional Administrator Alicka Ampry-Samuel was our featured speaker and spoke about her deep life-long connections to affordable and supportive housing as well as her connection to a number of the people and organizations in the room. She even noted that two of the projects that had opened in 2022 had been in her purview. Additionally, Ms. Ampry Samuel talked about the joy of working for a Secretary of HUD who “gets it” and who recently gathered 1,000 HUD administrators together to ask “what are we doing right and what are we doing wrong?” noting it’s about “getting it right, not being right.” She also congratulated the Network and our members on the great work we do and on inducting such amazing women onto the Board.
The evening also featured the Network’s summary of all the supportive/affordable residences that opened last year– 27 new supportive housing residences with 1,379 new congregate units of supportive and affordable housing, as well as 664 supportive units in affordable housing projects.
See HERE for the PPT presentation.